65 Chapter 18: Glass Sky (1/2)

The rays of the sun can be seen beaming like curtains of light seen by the end of the tunnel.

We soon reached the egress of the sewers, just the same way we got in. Naya raise her head from her seemingly shallow nap when we stepped out to daylight.

Jin pulled back the irons bars that he bent to the sides earlier as if it was the easiest thing to do.

The hyped-up sensation inside me had eventually faded and everything is back to normal once again.

I wonder if everyone is back at the inn by now? I certainly hope Aide won't think of my disappearance as an attempt to escape.

”Yo! Are you brooding again?” Jin snickered,

It's then that I realized that Jin had already climbed on Naya's back.

”I'm coming.” I replied, beaming at him apologetically. I guess I was spacing out more than I should.

It can't be helped though, there are so much things going on around me lately.

I took a deep breath and as what Faram always reminded me, I increased my senses.

An itched suddenly bloomed

alarming my senses.

I abruptly turned my head to a far corner of the open space we are in. Far ahead from us, where a row of trees and bushes lined like margins near the Palace walls, is a presence.

I can sense it. I can't be mistaken.

I focused.

Someone is watching us.

”Two of them” I murmured.

”Yo!” Jin hollered at me. ”We gotta go!”

I nodded at Jin, uneasily.

I leaped off from the grounds and landed just behind Jin.

”Let's try to see if they will follow” he says in almost a whisper when I sat down as he did.

Ah.

So Jin had noticed them too.

Naya spreads her wings and began to fly us up.

Soon, we were soaring above the city's buildings and streets. I can see people just glancing at us nonchalantly, not even raising any clamour. I guess it's because most people in this city are either so used in seeing many different things travellers bring along with them or they are travellers themselves.

”Don't look now but... royal guards are really following us from below” Jin says coolly.

”Since when?” I uttered, thinking out loud as I tried to recall if I have sensed them somehow before but overlooked it because I was so immersed in some other stuff.

”They weren't there before when we entered the sewers” Jun replied in a shrug. ”But maybe they fancied to check on us since Naya is too big to ignore?”

”What are you planning then?” I blurted just out of curiosity.

”I'll take you back to the inn. I'll see if I could lose them after that. If Faram and the others are already there and one of those royal guards chose to stay and spy on you or something, I'm sure they can do something about it.”

I nodded and just set my eyes straight ahead, watching the cityscape under the bright and scorching heat of sun as we soar in a steady speed.

••▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅••

I just jumped down from Naya and to the narrow balcony of the inn as Naya hovered over it.

”See ya' around, my Meister!” Jin salutes with two fingers while flashing a proud grin. I opened my mouth to reply but they suddenly took off even before I could have said anything.

I stared blankly at the floor but my focus was on my senses. It seems like both the royal guards followed Jin and Naya. I sighed in relief somehow that their attention wasn't entirely on me, but I'm somehow worried for Jin. Not that he needs it. Yeah... I'm sure he can take care it.

I fixed my wig in place, making sure it's tuck tight and off I went and walked back inside.

———

”Where's everyone?” I asked, seeing Scias just idly lying down on his back on one of the beds with his arms folded behind his head; one leg crossed over the other.

”They went to gather somewhere. How about you, where did ya went off to with Jin?” Scias sprung off bed and stood up, facing me. I closed the door behind me and walked towards him.

”We went to 'watch' a rot.” I air quoted.

”Aaaaand, he made you his Meister out from that?” He replied, one brow stood on end.

Oh.

He heard that...

Since it's too tedious and bothersome to narrate everything that had happened, I just nodded in reply.

Scias held his gaze steady for several seconds before hauling a sigh.

”I can't believe you had someone from Claude's team as your transmuter first than from our group.” He grunted but then he shrugged and brushed it off. ”Anyway, let's go to where the others are. Faram and Claude are there. It's rare enough for all of us to be present in one area, more so that we're all being summoned for an assembly.”

Scias walks towards the door that leads to the balcony. ”Can you jump?” He say in a side-long glance.

”Of course,” I replied almost instantly.

”No, I mean... never mind. Just keep up!”

He swung the door open, stepped out and suddenly disappeared in a blink of an eye.

I hurried to the balcony and saw Scias way above the rooftop of the inn, standing on the edge as he looks down to where I stand, ”Hurry now!” he hollered as he dashed towards the other edge and crossed the open space, landing on the roof of another building.

Now I get it why he was asking if I could jump!

I leaped off from the balcony and to the rooftop and in a hurry, I tried to catch up with him. A little stumble here and there but I managed.

”Ha! So you were at least trained to do these sort of stuff huh, princess?” He says in a sneer.

”Ever since the night of the harvest moons, it seems like my jumps are higher and my feet are more nimble.” I replied as we uniformly crossed one building to the next while dashing across the place in haste.

”And yet, your innate powers haven't awakened yet, huh? You sure are a late bloomer!”

I scowled at him for a moment, ”Well, I'm sorry!” I grumbled, focusing my eyes on our paths

Scias laughed. ”It would be better if you're a Wielder than a Transmuter though!”

”Why is that?”

”Well, we're all Transmuter in Ouboros, having a Wielder for one seems nice.”

”Isn't it that Cerguz is a Wielder?”

Well— 'was', I corrected inside my head.

”Yep, but he's already gone.”

I pursed my lips shut.

It's because of me.

I waited if Scias would elaborate about having a Wielder on the group topic but he didn't. He just went silent for some reason so I just kept glancing at Scias as he plastered a contemptuous smile across his face. His silence was becoming dreadful on my part so I decided to speak up, ”Are you angry that's he's gone?”

”Is that really your question?” he chuckled. ”Look kid, Cerguz was our Leader just because of a deal we all made with him. We aren't really close to that old fool to begin with. So if you're asking if I'm angry because you caused his demise, the answer is No.”

Scias slowed down and halted. I did so too and eyed him.

”And besides—! After watching you for quite some time now, I already figured you're someone who's not capable of killing someone in cold blood. So I'm sure Stray had something to do with his death instead.”

Stray... that name again.

I wish I can respond about that but quite frankly my memories regarding our escape from the deserts are a blur.

”Why are you crunching your brows like that?” Scias laughed, ”Oh right! You got your memories about Stray erased! Hahahaha! Look, Stray and Eriol is the same guy. Stray is the name Claude calls him with so we all just referred to him samely like how Faram calls you Ri!”

Ah!

Now that he mentioned it, I suddenly remembered Eriol did mentioned that name when we were talking in the Piano Room... no wonder it sounded familiar.

”Why did Faram erased my memories of him?”

Scias tapped on his chin.

”I'm not sure if I should tell you or not. I don't want to get in trouble...”

”Just tell me...”

”Why not go and ask Faram directly?”

”There are lot of things I want and I tried asking Master Faram but he doesn't really answer them, you know that!”

Scias shrugged, ”Then don't ask!”

I glared at him, deadpan.

”If people can't provide you answers why not search for a way to acquire them yourself?”

”You're not really helping...” I paced few steps forward, ”How can I possibly look for answers when the source won't tell me himself?”

”Either you're asking the wrong questions or he sees you're too naive to understand! I personally think it's both.”

I watch Scias as he began to run again and jump towards the next building's rooftop. ”There is an art in acquiring information from people!” He yells as he gestured at me to come.

I crossed towards the next building and stood beside him. ”You can be persistent; be damn manipulative; or be intimidating enough to extract informations out from anyone.”

I almost snorted from trying to hold a laugh in, ”Me—intimidating to Faram?” I asked, sardonically.

”You're a clever young girl, go figure!”

And then he went off again.

I watched him as he hops so nimbly across the city, one building to the next, as though he's simply doing hopscotch.

I tilted my head to the side and pondered.

I can be persistent but... hmmm—

'manipulative'...?

I don't think I'm devious enough topull that off... I suck at lying too.

But I bet Scias is adept in fooling others, seeing that he has the ability to shapeshift into someone as an enorcist, he needs to play the part perfectly. I believe that's an indirect way to trick and manipulate people into thinking he is as what he say he is and acquire whatever it is that he needs from them.

This must be the second time I am left alone with Scias though. The first is when he was playing the role as Leon.

We were all fooled by him.

Even Lady Mirel had never suspected that he let an Ouboros member inside our castle herself...

I watch Scias cover a distance. His sage-green hair shines in a vibrant lush color against broad daylight.

...suddenly he paused and turned to look at me.

”Hurry up!” Scias hollered from one of the rooftops, five buildings away from me.

I made haste as he continuously moved farther.

I know Scias is a Dark Magus with the capability to Shapeshift into anyone he killed, they call it Enorcist. But that's his elemental ability alone.

His non-elemental ability as a Transmuter is still unknown to me.

He won't tell me.

And yet he sulked for a moment about me becoming Jin's Meister first than anyone from Faram's group...

He did made a deal with me few days ago...

____

**Aide spoke: ”Alright, now about Transmuters. Scias for example. He is a—!”

”Hey hey hey, why do you have to use me as your example!” Scias interrupts as he merges out from the woods, holding their hunt, five small dead animals.

”Because I have to teach her that Transmuters can either be a weapon or an equip,” Aide explains. Scias walks to us and sets their hunt down on the fire, like barbecue.

”She'll learn it when she sees it!” Scias says, sweeping his eyes at me.

I straightened my back.

”Hey, how about we make a deal?” Scias asks in a sneer.

I tilted my head to the side curiously, ”What deal?”

”If you can guess what I can transform into as a Transmuter, I'll gladly take you in as my Meister.”

~[Chapter 15: Off Road]

I never seen him turn into anything though...

But according to Aide, Transmuters can either be a weapon or equip... maybe Scias is an equip.

If I figure out what he can turn into, I can make him my Transmuter.

Perhaps this would even be a good way to practice this 'acquiring information' he spoke of.

”Scias!” I called out as he slowed down a bit until I finally were able to caught up with him.

I pursed my lips and hesitated. If I asked him directly, he won't tell me for sure.

Oh now I get what he meant by 'asking the wrong question!'

I need to ask something else... something that seems unrelated...

An equip....

or

a weapon...

”I'm curious... When Eriol fought the dæmon back in Greenrun, he turns his hand into a crooked blade of a scythe to attack. But when Jin summoned his Forest sprites, he barely turned any of his limbs into a rod and yet he was able to use his Transmuter ability as a Theurgist Rod. Why is that?”

”Why suddenly bring that up?” Scias murmured but then he went on talking continuously anyway, ”Look, any Transmuters can either turn completely or just their limbs, depending to what they want but it takes a lot of skills and years of training to be able to summon a separate astral form of our Transmuter ability and wield them. Aide is a good example. She's not particularly hiding it!”